Double ended socket



Feb. 15, 1938. F. Hf-wEsToN 2,108,632

DOUBLE ENDED SOCKET Filed March 6. 1934 2 sheets-snee@v 1 4 Inventor: IE 5' z l y Frederick H .Westonl is Attorney. n

Feb. 15,'1938. E H, WESTQN i 2,108L632 DOUBLE ENDED SOCKE T Fifd March,1934 -2 snee'ts-sheet 2 l.Irre devick H .Westo Patented Feb. 15, 1938UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE DOUBLE ENDED SOCKET New York ApplicationMarch-6, 1934, serial No. 714,293

This invention relates generally to lamp sockets and is directed moreparticularly to the provision of lamp sockets that can be readilyassembled in a limited working space.

It is an object of this invention to provide a lamp socket that can beattached to a conduit or other supporting means Without turning theentire socket enclosure.

It is another object to provide a lamp socket that can be more easilywired in a restricted space than the ordinary socket.

It is a further object to provide a relatively simple means forpreventing longitudinal and rotary displacement of the contact baseassembly, which is assembled within the socket enclosure, relatively tothe enclosure.

It is an additional object of the invention ,to provide one type ci lampsocket that may be connected to the current bearing conductors ofn theassociated conduit by extending dead-end wires from these conductors tothe lamp socket and to provide another type of lamp socket that may beconnected to these current bearing conductors by looping the conductorsthemselves through the lamp socket.

An understanding of the invention may be obtained upon Vreference Ytothe following detailed description of one preferred embodiment of theinvention and to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View showing an assembled lamp socket Ythat maybe connected to the current bearing conductors by dead-end Wiresextended therefrom; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the parts shownassembled in Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a View showing the way in which the screwshells are attachedto the contact base; Fig. 4 is an exploded viewshowing the details of the contact base assembly without the` screwshells; Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing another method of attachingthe socket enclosure to aconduit or other supporting structure; Fig. 6is a perspective view showing an alternative construction for a lamp Ysocket which permits the conductors of the conduit to be looped throughthe socket; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the parts shown assembled inFig. 6, and Fig. 8 is a perspective View of the contact baseshownassembled in Fig. 6,

While the illustration and description have been restricted to aseparable double ended lamp socket Vit is to be understood that theinvention is not to be limited in this respect, for it has other usesthat will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Y

Referring now to the drawings, thedouble'endassembly will be givenlater.

ed socket comprises aV socket enclosure of molded insulating materialhaving an upper semi-cylindrical portion I and a loWer semi-cylindricalportion 2, a nipple 3', and a contact base assembly generally designatedby 4 in Fig. 2. It'will be noted that the socket enclosure is splitlongitudinally.

The upper portion I of the socket enclosure has a transverse opening 5,circumscribed by a multisided recess 6, and has disposed on its oppositesides external abutments 'I. Each abutment is provided with a recess 8and an opening 9.

The lower portion 2 of the socket enclosure has disposed on oppositesides thereof, external abutments I0 each of which is provided with anopening Il.

The nipple 3 is provided with a threaded opening I2 for attachingit to aconduit or other support (not shown) and with a set screw I3 forlockingitfto the conduit or support. The bottom L of the nippleisprovided with a. plurality of projections I4 formed during theprocess` of riveting thenipple to a yoke piece l5. This yoke piece isprovided with t'wc legs each having therein a tapped hole I6'.

A complete description of the lower portion 2 of the socket enclosureand of the contact base At this point it is desired to make clearV thesteps that occur in assembling the nipple 3, and the contact baseassembly with the upper and lower portions of the socket enclosure andin wiring the contact base assembly `to the conductors of the conduit.Dead-end wires (not shown) are connected to theconductors (not shown) ofthe conduit and are extended through the opening I2 of the nipple 3which is then attached and locked to the conduit or other support. Thedead-end Wires are next extended through the transverse opening 5 in thetop ofthe upper vportion I of the socket enclosure and then wired to thecontact base assembly 4 while it is still free ofthe socket enclosure.The present construction, therefore, enables the contact base assemblyto be readily connected to the conductors of the conduit even thoughthere is insufficient working space in the immediate neighborhood of theconduit outlet to make the connections. The upper portion I of Y thesocket enclosure is then assembled with the Y nipple 3 whereupon theprojections I4 of thev lower portion 2, in a manner that will bedescribed later, and then the upper and lower portions are assembledwith the abutments 'I and I6 in juxtaposition. When thus assembled thetwo portions form an enclosure provided with a longitudinal opening. Thescrews |'I (only one of which is shown) are positioned in the openings|I of the lower portion 2, in the openings 9 of the upper portion I andthreaded into the holes I6 in the legs of the yoke piece I5.

From this description it is apparent that the nipple can iirst beattached to the conduit, the contact base assembly then connected bydeadend wires to the conductors of the conduit before being placedwithinthe socket enclosure, and finally the upper and lower portions of thesocket enclosure can be assembled into a rigid, unitary structure,without the necessity of turning the socket enclosure.

The contact base assembly 4 (Figs. 2-4) which, as previously stated, isadapted to be positioned within the socket enclosure comprises a contactbase I8, carrying thereon contact members I9 and 20, contact terminalplates 2| and 22, and two oppositely disposed screw shells 23 and 24.

'Ihe contact base itself, which may be molded from any suitableinsulating material, is provided on each of its opposite sides with astraight edge 25 (only one edge being illustrated). When the contactbase is positioned within the socket enclosure, these edges t within theinternal abutments 26 of the lower portion 2, thereby preventing rotarydisplacement of the contact base assembly.

Each of the screw shells 23 and 24 is provided with a threaded openingfor receiving a screw base lamp (not shown) and the outer edge 27 ofeach screw shell is ared. The ilared edges of these shells are adaptedto enter internal grooves 28 and 29 on the upper and lower portions ofthe socket enclosure, thereby preventing longitudinal displacement ofthe contact base assembly 4. The screw shells are adapted to be rigidlyattached to the contact base, with their openings facing in oppositedirections as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and for this purpose each shellhas at its inner edge two brackets provided with punched holes 3|] and3| adapted to receive the screws 32 and 33.

The contact members comprise spring center contacts I9 and 29 attachedto the contact base I8 on opposite ends thereof. Each spring centercontact, which is of the usual construction, is provided with asubstantially circular portion adapted to engage the centerV contactterminal of a screw base lamp (not shown) and with a connecting portionextending in a ldirection substantially at right angles to the circularportion and in a different plane therefrom. The connecting portion ofeach spring center contact is provided with a punched hole, as shown inFig. 4, and is adapted to be positioned in a recess 34 of the contactbase. The circular portion projects over a raised portion 35 of thecontact base, as is shown in Fig. 3.

The contact terminal plates include a'center contact terminal plate 2|and a horseshoe terminal plate 22. The center contact terminal plate 2|is provided with two portions in planes substantially at right angles toone another. One portion is provided with a tapped hole 36 adapted toreceive the screw 4'.' and the other portion is provided with a tappedhole 3'! adapted to receive the binding screw 38. The horseshoe terminalplate 22 has a iirst portion provided with two tapped holes 39 and 40adapted to receive the screws 32 and 33 and has also a second portionsubstantially at right angles to the first. The second portion isprovided with a tapped hole 4I adapted to receive a binding screw 42.This second portion is adapted to be positioned in a recess 43 on thecontact base, while the binding screw 42 is positioned in the deeperrecess 44. The portion of the center contact terminal plate 2| havingthe hole 3'! therein is positioned in a recess (not shown, but similarto the recess 43) of the contact base, while the binding screw 33 ispositioned on a deeper recess (not shown, but similar to the recess 44)therein.

In combining the parts of the contact base assembly 4, the brackets ofthe right-hand screw shell 24 are positioned under the horseshoeterminal plate 22 and then the screws 32 and 33 are inserted through theholes 3U and 3| in the brackets of the screw shell 23, through theopenings 45 and 46 in the contact base, through the holes 30 and 3| inthe brackets of the screw shell 24, and into the tapped holes 39 and 40of the horseshoe terminal plate 22. The screw shells 23 and 24, and thehorseshoe terminal plate 22 are thus rigidly attached to the contactbase I8. The screw 41 is inserted through the holes provided in thespring center contact 20, through the opening 48 in the base, throughthe hole in the spring center contact I9 and into the tapped hole 36 ofthe center contact terminal plate 2|. The two spring center contacts I9and 20, and the center contact terminal plate 2| are thus rigidlyattached to the base I8.

The manner in which the dead-end wires (not shown) are extended from theconduit conductors (not shown) to the contact base assembly has beenpreviously explained. The remainder of the circuit connecting theseconductors to the lamps supported by the socket will now be traced. Oneof these conductors is connected by means of one dead-end wire and thebinding screw 42 to the horseshoe terminal plate 22 and the other isconnected by means of another deadend wire and the binding screw 38 tothe center contact terminal plate 2|. The circuit for the lampassociated with the screw shell 24 can be traced from the horseshoeterminal plate 22, the screw shell 24, filament of the lamp connected tothe screw shell, the center contact terminal of the lamp (not shown),spring center contact 29 to the center contact terminal plate 2|. Thecircuit for the lamp associated with the screw shell 23 can be tracedfrom the center contact terminal plate 2|, spring center contact I6,center contact terminal of the lamp (not shown), iilament of the lamp,screw shell 23 to the horseshoe terminal plate 22.

An alternative means for attaching the socket enclosure to the conduitor other supporting member and for assembling the upper and lowerportions of the enclosure is shown in Fig. 5. In this arrangement thenipple 49, which is provided with a threaded central opening 5I), ispermanently connected to the upper portion 5| of a socket enclosurewhich is, except for the differences now to be pointed out, similar tcthe upper portion I of the enclosure shown in Fig. l. The nipple 49 hason its base a plurality of projections which t into the multi-sidedrecess 52, in the molded upper portion 5|, which is similar to therecess 6 (Fig. 2). After the nipple 49 has been tted into this recessits lower edge 53 is spun over, thus permanently attaching the nipple tothe upper portion 5I. The upper portion 5| and the lower portion (notshown) of the socket enclosure are held together, as is shown in Fig. 5,

by means of the self-tapping screws 54 (only one of which is shown),which thread into the compound of the upper portion l. The contact baseassembly (not shown) which is positioned within the socket enclosure isthe same as the one disclosed'in Figs.2 to 4.

In Figs. 6 to 8, inclusive, `is illustrated a modied lamp Vsocket inwhich the upper and lower portions of the socket enclosure are heldtogether in a different manner than in the constructions shown in Figs.1 and 5, and in which the lamp socket, instead of being connected to theconductor wires of the conduit by dead-end wires extended therefrom tothe contact base of the lamp socket, as is necessarylwith theconstruction shownin Figs. 1 to 4,inclusive, is connected to theconductor wires by looping the wiresthem-V- selves throughV the lampsocket.

i Referring toFigs.-6 and '7, the modified lamp socket is provided witha socket enclosure comprising an upper portion 55 and a lower portion55, a nipple 5T which is-disposed in a recess in the upper portion 55 inthe same manner as the nipple 49 shown in Fig. 5, and a contact baseassembly 58. The nipple 51 is provided with a threaded opening 59 forattaching the nipple to a conduit or support and with a set screw 6U forlocking the nipple to the conduit. The upper and lower portions of theso'cket enclosure are each provided' with a pair of oppositely disposedabutments, as 6! and 62. A recess 63 is provided at the top ofeach ofthe abutments, as 6|, on

the upperportion of the enclosure, and in this recess Vis a clearancehole 64, while'in the corresponding abutment on the lower portion of theenclosure is a complementary clearance hole 55.V

When the upper and lower portions of vthe socket enclosure areassembledrwith their corresponding abutments in juxtaposition, screws as65,

are adapted torbe inserted into the complementary openings' and`65 fromthe bottom face of the abutment on the lower portion 55 and to bethreaded into nuts, as 61, positioned in the recesses 53, thus:fastening the upper and lower portions of the socket enclosure into aunitary `conduit to be looped through the opening 59 in the nipple 51and connected to the contact base assembly 58 by means of the bindingscrews, as 'H,which are disposed in recesses, as 12, in the sidesY 69 ofAthe contact base. VIt is to be noted that when the contact baseassembly is positioned Within the socket enclosure, the binding screws,as lll, are located within the lower portion of the enclosure. Theremainder of the circuit for the lamps attached to the socket baseassembly may be readily understood from the descriptionof the completelamp circuits described in connection with Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive.

'I'he screw shells 13 and 14 are attached to the contact base 58 and tothe other parts of theVV contactr base Vassembly in the same manner thatthe shells 23 and 24 are attached to the contact base i8, as describedin connection with Figs. l to 4, inclusive. But in addition to providingeach Vscrew shell with a ared edge 'l5 which cooperates with a groove 16on the inner surface of the upper and lower'portions of the socketenclosure to prevent longitudinal displacement of the contact baseassembly 58 relatively to the enclosure, each iiared edge is providedwith diametrically vopposite notches 11, and each groove 16 is providedwith a lled-in portion 18 which the notches engage to prevent rotarydisplacement of the socket base assembly 58 relatively Vto theenclosure.

The invention provides a lamp socket that can be attached to a conduitand readily wired to the conductors thereof even though the conduit ispositioned in a limited working space. 'I'his is eiected by providingthe socket with a socket enclosure having separable upper and lowerportions and with a separable contact base assembly that can be wired tothe Conductors of the conduit before being positioned within, andassembled with, the upper and Ylo-wer portions of the socket enclosure.V

The invention also provides a lamp socket that can be readily assembledinto a rigid, unitary structure by merely Yplacing the contact baseassembly within the upper and lower portions of4 the socket enclosureand fastening the upper and lower portions of the enclosure together.

The invention further provides one type of lamp socket that can beconnected to the conductor wires by means of dead-end wires extendedfrom these conductors and provides another type of lamp socket that canbe connected to the conductor wires by looping these wires through thelamp socket.

The invention is not to be restricted to the particular form orarrangement of parts shown Vand described herein since it is apparentthat they may be changed and modified without departing from the scopeof the present invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is:

1. In a lamp socketassembly, a socket enclosure of insulating materialcomprising an upper portion provided with a transverse opening and alower portion cooperating with the upper portion to form a socketenclosure provided with a longitudinal opening, a nipple positionable insaid transverse opening and provided with legs and an opening connectingwith the longitudinal opening, a separable lamp receiving means rigidlypositionable within said longitudinal opening, and means cooperatingwith said legs and with both portions of the enclosure for assemblingthe enclosure and nipple into a rigid, unitary structure.

2. In a lamp socket assembly, a socket enclosure of insulating materialcomprising an upper vportion provided with a transverse opening and andlower portions, a nipple positionable in said Y transverse opening, saidnipple being provided with legs supported on the abutments of the upperportion' and with a threaded opening co-nnecting with said longitudinalopening, a sep-V arable lamp receiving means rigidly positionable withinsaid longitudinal opening, and means cooperating with said legs and withsaid abutments for assembling the enclosure and nipple into a rigid,unitary structure.

3. In a lamp socket assembly, a socket enclo-V sure of insulatingmaterial comprising an upper portion provided with a transverse openingand a lower portion cooperating with the upper portion to form -anenclosure provided with a longitudinal opening, abutments on both ofsaid portions and recesses in the abutments of the upper portion, anipple positionable in said transverse opening, said nipple beingprovided with legs positionable in said recesses and with a threadedopening connecting with said longitudinal opening, a separable lampreceiving means rigidly positionable within said longitudinal opening,and means cooperating with said legs and with the abutments of bothportions for assembling the enclosure and nipple in a rigid, unitarystructure.

4. In a lamp socket assembly, a socket enclosure oi insulating materialcomprising an upper portion provided with a transverse opening and alower portion cooperating with the upper portion to form a socketenclosure having a longitudinal opening, a nipple mounted in saidtransverse opening, a separable contact base of insulating materialpositionable Within the longitudinal opening, oppositely disposed screwshells carried on said base and provided with flared edges, and internalgrooves on said upper and lower portions cooperating with said flarededges to prevent longitudinal displacement of the base relatively to theenclosure.

5. In a lamp socket assembly, a socket enclosure of insulating materialcomprising upper and lower separable portions, a separable contact baseof insulating material provided with straight sides and positionablewithin the enclosure, internal abutments on said lower portioncooperating with the straight sides to prevent rotary displacement ofthe base relatively to the enclosure, oppositely disposed screw shellscarried on said base and provided with flared outer edges, and internalgrooves on said upper and lower portions cooperating with said edges toprevent longitudinal displacement of the base relatively to theenclosure.

6. In a lamp socket assembly, a socket enclosure of insulating materialcomprising an upper portion provided with a transverse opening and alower portion cooperating with the upper portion to form a socketenclosure provided With a longitudinal opening, a nipple positionable insaid transverse opening and provided with a threaded opening connectingwith said longitudinal opening, a separable contact base of insulatingmaterial, said base being relatively narrower in width than saidlongitudinal opening and being positionable in said opening, and lampreceiving means attached to said base and cooperating with saidenclosure to prevent longitudinal and rotary displacement of the baserelatively to the socket enclosure.

7. In a lamp socket assembly, a socket enclosure of insulating materialcomprising an upper portion provided with a transverse opening and alower portion cooperating with the upper portion to form a socketenclosure having a longitudinal opening, a separable Contact base ofinsulating material positionable within said longitudinal opening,oppositely disposed screw shells carried on said base and provided withared edges, internal grooves on said upper and lower portions forreceiving said flared edges to prevent longitudinal displacement of thebase, lled in sections in said grooves, and notches in said ilared edgescooperating with said lled in sections to prevent rotary displacement ofthe base.

8. In a lamp socket assembly, a socket enclosure of insulating materialcomprising an upper portion provided with a transverse opening and alower portion cooperating with the upper portion to form a socketenclosure having a longitudinal opening, a separable contact base ofinsulating material, said base being relatively narrower in width thansaid longitudinal opening and being positionable in said opening,oppositely disposed screw shells carried on said base and provided withflared edges, internal grooves on said Lipper and lower portions forreceiving said flared edges to prevent longitudinal displacement of thebase, lled in sections in said grooves, and notches in said flared edgescooperating with said lled in sections to prevent rotary displace-l mentof the base.

FREDERICK H. WESTON.

